How to Earn Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

For the last five years, Chase customers have been using the Ultimate Rewards Program to earn tons of points for travel perks. As the program has developed, many travel partners have been added, including airlines, hotels and more. Let’s take a look at some of the best ways for you to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards Points so that you can make the most of your purchases and earn vacations more quickly!

Three Credit Cards to Choose From

Chase offers three different cards when it comes to earning Ultimate Rewards points that can be redeemed for airline miles or hotel points. You can opt for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Ink Bold or the Chase Ink Plus. None of these cards come without annual fees, but the annual fee of $95 is waived for the first year for each of these cards.

More Options For Earning Points

Chase does offer several other no-annual-fee credit cards that will earn points, but the points that are earned cannot be transferred for redemption by any of the partner programs. You can still use them for the actual program you are registered for, or exchange them for cash back or gift card options.

You can transfer your points among different Chase cards that are associated with the Ultimate Rewards, so if you have a higher-tiered card, you can transfer the points earned from your no-fee card, like the Chase Freedom, and then have more options when you want to redeem them.

Different Earning Potential Among Cards

There is a distinct difference when it comes to earning points if you are using the annual fee version or the no-fee versions of these Chase credit cards. All of the Chase cards mentioned offer earning potential of 1 point per dollar spent. When you have one of the annual fee versions of the cards, you will have the ability to earn bonus points in specific categories, up to 5 points per dollar spent.

For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 2 points per dollar spent on airfare, dining and travel purchases, while the business cards, the Chase Ink Plus and Chase Ink Bold, each offer 2 points per dollar spent on gas and hotels. The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers an additional perk of a 7% bonus at the end of the year on all of your points earned. This means if you have earned 40,000 points during the year, you will receive a bonus of 2,800 points at the end of the year!

For business customers using the Chase Ink cards, it is possible to earn 5 points per dollar spent on all of your business expenses—including cell phone, internet services and cable charges. You can earn up to 250,000 points per year this way!

Redeeming at the Ultimate Rewards Mall

One of the great things about the Chase Ultimate Rewards program is the many ways in which you can redeem your points. The online shopping portal, the Ultimate Rewards Mall, not only offers amazing deals from hundreds of your favorite retailers, but you can also enjoy bonus points for most purchases—some may be up to 30 points per dollar spent!

Just as an example, if you spent $200 with a 30 points-per-dollar bonus, you would earn 6,000 points. When you consider that a standard rate is $35 for 1,000 miles, purchased through the airline, you are essentially getting 6,000 miles for $200—a significant savings—because you are not just buying the miles, you have $200 worth of merchandise to go along with it.

Bottom Line

Maximizing earning potential is a priority for any rewards credit card holder. After all, why have the credit card if you are not going to take advantage of the perks? Learn how you can get the highest earning rates, and how to spend in a way that gets you the most points or cash back.

In this case, you can see just how great the Chase offers are, especially if you want to redeem your points with the travel partners of United Airlines, British Airways, Marriott, InterContinental, Korean Air, Southwest Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Hyatt, Ritz-Carlton and more!